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Why The Huffington Post has relegated Donald Trump coverage to its entertainment pages

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By Natalie Mortimer, N/A

September 16, 2015 | 3 min read

The Huffington Post has explained its decision to relegate Donald Trump to its entertainment section after dismissing him as a non-credible source.

As media coverage around the US presidential election continues to heat up, so does the surge of column inches devoted to its most famous candidate Donald Trump. But in a move it describes as a “risk”, the AOL-owned Huffington Post recently decided to relegate Trump from its front page to its entertainment section as it looks to push its brand authenticity.

Speaking at Dmexco earlier today, AOL head of international Graham Moysey, said The Huffington Post’s editorial decision served as an example of why brands working to build an authentic voice should take risks to build trust with consumers.

“The Huffington Post took a risk – we don’t cover Donald Trump on our editorial front page we put him on the entertainment page because he’s a fucking entertainer,” he said. “He’s not a credible source. When he was apologising for many of the things he has done wrong he basically said himself he’s an entertainer.

"The editorial team took a risk and said we’re going to stick this guy on our entertainment pages because we don’t want to give him the credibility. Consumers love that and the same thing happens when you’re a brand – you show vulnerability and show risk and there is a natural tendency to align and build some trust there.”

Using advertising is another way AOL plans to build its brands authentically. Today the company launched One by AOL: Creative an advertising automation platform to deliver a personalised experience for users. It comes after advertisers felt there was a ‘missing piece’ in creative.

“Our job is to personalise an experience so that it becomes an incredible one and you [the consumer] stay on the asset. We think of great advertising as content and the consumer tends to absolve it when it is good content.”

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